Fallacious Doctrines

By Calixtus Patrick Etokudo

 

Ø   This is a book that reveals deep-rooted deliberate manipulation of the Bible over centuries by replacing God's words with what is termed 'church traditions' intended to hide the truth and protect the clandestine interest of a few. The book exposes

• Language: English
• Publisher: Religion/General life
• Release date: Jan 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9781738276615

Book preview

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any process or any means, without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Table of Contents

Introduction........................................................................................................3

Chapter One – Creation of Humankind ............................................................9

Chapter Two – The Original Sin .....................................................................19

Chapter Three – The Origin of Demons .........................................................36

Chapter Four – The Rapture ...........................................................................52

Chapter Five – People who Died before Jesus Came .....................................60

Chapter Six - Predestination……………….……………………….….…….68

Chapter Seven – Future of Humankind…………….…….…………….…....76

Chapter Eight – Salvation………...……………………………….……. ….83

Chapter Nine – The Second Coming of Jesus…………….…………...……101

Chapter Ten – The Antichrist………….…………………………………....111

Chapter Eleven – The False Prophet…………...…………………….…….122

Chapter Twelve – The Law……….………………………………………..135

Chapter Thirteen – Grace……………………………...…………………...146

Chapter Fourteen – Life after Death……………...…………………...……156

Chapter Fifteen - Tradition of Men…………….…………….……….……169

Chapter Sixteen – Gospel of Deception…………………………………....183

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………198

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this book is to correct the erroneous doctrines that crept into the Church over the centuries and have been adopted as dogmatic principles to teach adherents to the Christian faith; we will let the Holy Scripture correct the doctrines by itself. We do not need any personal interpretation of the Bible because the Bible can explain itself without the help of anybody. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:20-21). These false doctrines are so enticing and appealing to the ears so much so that believers receive them without questions. Across the world, these fables have spread endlessly. Fables are things that look like the truth but in actual sense, they are either half-truths or wholesomely false. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This was a prophecy by Saint Paul of how people would accept false doctrines as truth and it is happening right in our face. People who are supposed to defend the Gospel are even deceived and they consent to it.

This book will expose the falsehood which is inherent in the commonly accepted norms and dogmas used in different churches across the world today. We will let Scripture explain Scripture rather than rely on human assumptions. The Bible is a revelation of the mind of God, and must be seen to be sufficient to fulfil that purpose. This in essence means that no human intelligence or science is required to buttress that point. Human intellect and scientific discoveries should only be needed to help people comprehend the truth that is already embedded in the Bible. We come to know God by believing his revelations to us. We do not need Theology to explain God and the mind of God. Instead, we may need Theology if and only if that Theology will help us to unravel what we have not understood in the Word of God, but absolutely not to substitute the infallible Word of God.

This book critically and scrupulously scrutinizes every questionable doctrine used in different churches in the light of the undiluted Word of God. Adding something to or subtracting anything from the Word of God is contemptuously misleading to devoted followers of Jesus Christ, to say the least. Giving wrong interpretation to the Word of God is equally misrepresentative of the Word of God, and has the potential of leading Christians astray, making them believe what they ought not to believe or not believing the truth as told in the Bible. The book is therefore seeking to restore sanctity and truth to the doctrines of the Church and revolutionize Christian dogmas that form the bedrock of the Christian faith. It is an eye-opener to every committed Christian who sincerely seeks salvation and needs to know how to seriously wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this book, you are going to read the truth about the concept of original sin, the origin of demons, rapture, resurrection, life after death, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, the mark of the beast and the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The conforming demands of religion have made it difficult for people who are skeptical about certain doctrinal principles of a church, to sum up the courage to probe into the veracity and tenacity of such doctrines. In order not to be seen as a non-conformist, many people would rather doubtfully accept doctrines and dogmas that are against their conscience or common sense. Thus, they cannot stand up to challenge such doctrines because they would make them look rebellious; so, they would rather comply with them against their conscience. The danger of this kind of attitude is that people may end up believing something contrary to their faith and salvation which may eventually make them get lost forever.

Fallacious Doctrines is written bearing in mind people who do not have adequate knowledge of the Bible so that they can use the Scriptures in controversial matters to search for what is true. The Bible has given solutions to every life problem and there are no discrepancies in the Bible. The main obstacle for lay Christians and untrained church leaders is that they do not have adequate knowledge to correctly interpret some passages in the Bible and understand them without some training or guidance. This book is written to offer such guidance. We do not have to believe something because someone who is a clergy has said it; we have the Bible as our point of reference to measure the truth of every doctrine before we acquiesce to it. God’s Word should be the standard for Christian doctrines, and it is. If something does not agree with what God says in his book, it cannot be a Church doctrine. We are called to search the Scriptures if what we are taught is true before accepting them as doctrines. Christians in Berea were commended for searching the Scriptures to prove if what Paul and Silas were teaching them conformed to the Bible or not before accepting them. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11). This book is designed to help Christians search the Bible to see if the doctrines they receive are true. The Word of God called ‘Logos’ in Greek means a divine word other than an ordinary human word; it reveals the mind and inner thoughts of God. When God gives us His Word, He is giving us His divine thought, mind, and truth.

A doctrine is a set of belief systems of a people which influences their way of life, culture, and customs based on what they are taught. A church doctrine is therefore a set of belief systems that influence people’s choices, decisions, and hope based on the Word of God that they receive. Hence, if the doctrine is false, their decisions, choices, and hope will be based on falsehood which can never lead to salvation. The ultimate aim of this book is to shed more light on the grey areas of church doctrines that leave believers mystified and confused. God wants believers to be able to read His Word and be able to comprehend the Word and be in a position to apply it in their daily walk with Him. Where human-made doctrines stand in their way and complicate things for the believer, we leave them in the dark. It is for this very purpose that this book has been given meticulous attention that it deserves to bring to light those doctrines and teachings in churches that are either misinterpreted or misunderstood and then compared with the verses of the scriptures that speak on those particular issues. The reader is therefore to make well-informed decisions on what they believe to be true. The reason that Christians need to verify doctrines is to help them believe what is true in the light of the scriptures because salvation is based on what we believe. People who believe in wrong religions cannot be saved not because they did not believe in something that could save them but because they believed in something that was false same with people who believe in wrong doctrines. They cannot be saved if they believe in what cannot lead to salvation. In reading this book, we will discover that every doctrinal principle mentioned in the book is scrutinized based on quoted passages from the Bible. The truth that we know about God is bound to strengthen our faith in Him and expand our knowledge. We should also be able to teach others the truth that we discover. We know things in parts as God reveals them to us. I am very convinced that God will reveal some truth to you as you read through this book.

Besides fallacious church doctrines invented by individual or corporate churches, some individuals are personally distorting the Word of God and indoctrinating blind followers with these lies. It is not uncommon nowadays to find publications on social media and the internet claiming that hidden words of God have been discovered somewhere. Some claim that some of such hidden scriptures have magical powers to make people wealthy reducing the Word of God to simply an instrument for making money and riches. The Pure Word of God has been grievously adulterated and misused for diabolical purposes. We cannot continue to keep quiet in the face of so much gross misrepresentation of the Word of God. Someone must stand up to correct the anomalies and must do it now to protect the Body of Christ which is the Church. Fallacious Doctrines is written to address these anomalies and to expose Christians to the true Word of God and offer them a platform to compare these increasing false teachings with the written Word of God. The book provides a systematic way to measure the veracity of any claimed ‘word of God’ with the Bible that was handed down to us by God through His chosen prophets who received the spoken Word of God called ‘Rhema’ in Greek language and translated the same unaltered Word of God into writing.

Chapter One

Creation of Humankind

The idea of an invisible power hovering over the universe and being responsible for the existence of life is indisputable. Different schools of thought have ascribed this power to whom we call God. Many people also have different beliefs about whether there are many gods or one God. We, Christians, believe that there is only one God who manifests Himself in three persons: God the Father (the Creator), God the Son (when He incarnated and came to Earth in the form of a human being to reveal Himself to human beings since He could not be seen as a Spirit) and the Holy Spirit (as His Spirit is everywhere carrying out various functions). God is one; He is not divided into three as people often misconstrue it. Jesus declared categorically and unequivocally to His disciples, I and my Father are one (John 10:30). He said it in order to dispel all doubts concerning the indivisibility of God and nullify the notion of the plurality of God. How can we talk about God as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit? The same way we are created with body, soul and spirit as one person, that is the same way that God functions and there is nothing too complicated about this as we sometimes seem to wonder. We have our body functioning through the senses, the soul being a faculty for memory and emotions while the spirit is connected to the body through the soul, likewise is God functioning as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as one God. Some people want to make this a bone of contention for trivial reasons. This God explains from the very beginning of creation that after creating the whole universe, it was good. Adam and Eve that He created were also very good. In the beginning of space and time, God created the universe but God had already been living outside space and time in eternity. What does that mean? It means that God does not need space and time to exist. He has always been there before He created space and time; His existence transcends our universe which in ordinary terms, we can say that God existed outside of the universe from where He created the universe because the fact that we can only see the physical universe does not mean that the physical universe is all that exists. Evolution, if it were true, could not have taken place if there was no physical space and time; someone had to create them. God who lives outside of physical space created the physical universe and time. Where then does the theory of evolution fit in here? Nowhere. God said he created living things male and female for them to reproduce according to their kind which is what we see since creation. If evolution were true, we would have observed it happen, but there is no record of it in history. We believe that there is only one God; the belief in one God is called monotheism, but there are different concepts of the one God as the Supreme Deity and a concept of one plural God as opposed to polytheism which is a belief in many gods. All through the Bible, God has never expressed Himself as three persons within one God, but as one God expressing Himself as a Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

It is therefore a misconception of the Bible to explain that the three personalities through which God manifests Himself are three distinct persons. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (Deuteronomy 6:4). The Book of Galatians confirms this in the New Testament. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. (Galatians 3:20). Jesus in teaching His disciples, said that the Father and Him are One. I and my Father are one. (John 10:30). He teaches us to baptize believers in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, not ‘names’ meaning that all the three names are the names of one person – God. He said if you see Him, you have seen the Father. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (John 14:9). The doctrine of the Trinity of three persons in one God is not correct because it gives people the notion of three Gods. There is only one God who manifests Himself in three different forms: as the Father, as the Son and as the Holy Spirit. Philippians 2:6-7 says, Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: Here the Bible is talking about God who took human flesh to come to Earth while still remaining God. How can that be? It is beyond our imagination just as the creation of the whole universe is suspended in space without pillars is beyond human imagination. This is what makes Him God. If we understand all things about God, then we will be equal to God. When Jesus was a baby, He remained God who had become a baby in a human form. When He died, He died as God who had become human in order to die for humanity because He could not have died being in the form of God since God cannot die. When He resurrected from death, He rose up as God who became a man and died as man but resurrected. We do not have to confuse these issues as that also confuses believers. God created humankind in His own image according to Genesis Chapter 1:27, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis Chapter 1:33 says, And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Out of everything that God created, it was only a human being that God breathed in His Spirit so that he could have a soul and function as God in the Spirit. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7). There was no evil in the world until Adam and Eve believed the Devil, accepted what he said and received his spirit into them; then, they disobeyed God and obeyed Satan.

God had put Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden where there was Satan before, to dethrone Satan on earth and make mankind rule over him, but mankind condescended to the point of submitting to him and so lost the authority and dominion that God gave them over creation including Satan. Humankind now has to be dominated by Satan which was not the original plan of God. Satan suggests evil, and we just have to follow his whims and call because of his nature in us. We find ourselves knowing what is good but compelled to do the opposite. Satan rules over us because Adam and Eve have surrendered the authority that God gave them to him. We find ourselves struggling to be like God by doing good but we are failing. This transferred the spirit of Satan like a ‘spiritual virus’ into Adam and Eve, putting the image (nature) of Satan in them. So, they found themselves in the image of Satan instead of the image of God, because the Spirit of God had departed from them making